COE33 is a fascinating synthesis of old and new influences. Its limited-but-ever-refreshing items and the need to carefully read incoming attacks in order to dodge or parry effectively recalls Dark Souls and its ilk, while the turn-based combat was influenced by Final Fantasy, but it also has a lot of original ideas, not least of which is the story and world design.
I'm... still recovering from finishing the main story, and wrestling with the decision I made in the end. I don't know exactly how the other ending plays out, though the one I chose was a weird mix of celebration and utter nightmare, and a decision I based on values that continue to be supported in the post-game.
Still, it's an odd choice that there's so much of this game that is too high-level for a party that is already out-leveling the story's conclusion. On one hand, it's an opportunity to remain in this world and enjoying its satisfying gameplay and mysteries. On the other hand, I wonder why they didn't just build more of this into the Act Three plot.
I just did the Flying Manor, which involves going after several previously-fought bosses (the area said it was too high-level for me, but I didn't really have any trouble) and ends with a fight that requires either very high damage output or near-perfect mastery in dodging and parrying the attacks (the latter of which was my method, which was extra tough when new attacks started getting mixed in about halfway through).
The Manor actually granted a massive number of high-level weapons and pictos, though I still don't have some of the ones associated with some of the builds I've seen online.
Anyway, I've adored this game - it has swiftly made its way onto my list of greatest games of all time list (though where it ranks remains to be seen - we're still in a honeymoon phase here, after all). And so, it's kind of nice to be able to keep playing even after the story has concluded.
On the other hand, there is something good about getting closure on a game. I've been playing WoW for nearly 19 years now, and of course that's a game that doesn't end, by design (though you could argue that finishing the final raid of an expansion leaves you kind of at a good pausing point - indeed, recent expansions have actually kind of made each major patch like a mini-expansion). But I'll also point out that my favorite new game in 2023, Alan Wake II, took me only a weekend to beat, and I played through it once again when the New Game Plus mode was introduced, and while I've been happy to delve into its lore and watch countless hours of YouTube videos about it (check out the Monty Zander one if you have time - a video game video essay that is, itself, an impressive work of art) without playing it again.
So, we'll see if and when I feel the desire to start up NG+ for this one, or, perhaps, if I'll just let the game rest and perhaps come back and play it again in a decade or something.
Sandfall should be very proud of this game - as I'm sure they are. I really hope we see more great things out of them, and I'll be eager to see the influence this game has on the industry.
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